Recent News

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Oklahoma's Congressman Jim Bridenstine is a member of the Congressional Freedom Caucus. This 40-member group became powerful enough to overthrow the powerful speaker, John Boehner, this passed week. Boehner was a member of the leadership when Newt Gingrich first orchestrated the 1994 overthrow of the 40 years of Democrat rule.
This Freedom Caucus seems poised to rally around Florida's Congressman Daniel Webster (yep, that's really his name). Webster was the speaker of Florida's House and garnered praise from allies and foes alike. Oklahoma's former state senator, Don Rubottom has spent the last 18 years at the Tallahassee capitol building and is currently the clerk of the legislature.

Sen. Don Rubottom

Don was invited by Webster to move to Florida in 1996, to join his team;

"My friend Congressman Dan Webster is the very conservative Congressman who had the guts to run for Speaker against Boehner. Dan Webster asked me to come to Florida to work for him in 1996 when he became the first Republican Speaker here in 122 years.".

" Everyone respects Dan Webster and he's shown he will not "play ball". He transformed the Florida House and could do the same in Washington. Character. Integrity." Don went on to say; " You can't find any reformer for Speaker other than Webster. Everyone else is about the power and perks. I worked for Webster, he is different."

Only 3 clemency candidates nominated in the past 3 years

William Wood jr. is a military veteran, former minister, and 60 years old. He's been in prison for 10 years so far and has 189 years left to serve on his sentence. He has had no disciplinary complaints while in prison.

About 11 years ago, William was found to be in possession of controlled drug substances and raw materials. He was arrested & convicted. He has no other violent crimes record. William Wood jr. did have a drug addiction.

William Wood jr. would
like to resume his ministry,
if granted clemency

“I'll go back to preaching,” Wood told the board, “knowing I can't get everyone off the drugs because I was right there with them.”

The board, voting 4-1, recommended Wood's sentence be commuted to 20 years. Vice Chairman Patricia High was the no vote.
The clemency board has not seen any sentence commuted in the past 3 years. Despite our overcrowded prisons and some of the harshest sentencing laws, Oklahoma's lawmakers have not shown any sign of significant support for reforming our nonviolent crimes mandatory sentencing. Would Rev. Wood have been in this mess had he not had an addiction? Probably not.

Prisons are for people we believe are too dangerous to be in society.

William and 2 others are the only inmates being presented to Governor Fallin for her potential grant of clemency.Donnie Daniel is 53 and terminally ill. Hepatitis is a common concern in the prison system. He was sentenced to life without parole nearly 20 years ago for selling an illegal drug. His request is to have his sentenced reduced to a life sentence, so that he can eventually have another hearing and potentially get parole, so he can see his grandchildren before he dies.Michael Tippin is serving a life sentence for producing a drug without a license to do so. He is 55 and has been incarcerated since 2000.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

The Report of

The Defenders of Liberty Awards

Board of Directors

2015 Defenders of Liberty honorees

There were thirty six nominees this year and it was very difficult to select winners because all of them are incredible people who work so hard.

This year it seems that the grassroots have had some significant pushback and discouragement. We have felt a distinct change in politics recently and we want to tell you why, in the end, we think that is a good thing. If you haven’t heard, Speaker John Boehner announced yesterday that he was leaving Congress in the end of October. Immediately the pundits began explaining away this behavior from leadership and chalked it up to those crazy right wing wacko birds holding the rest of Congress hostage.

Let us explain exactly why John Boehner is leaving. He is leaving because of the people here in this room tonight. He’s leaving because you all worked to get one of the finest Congressman in Washington elected. He’s leaving because you all made calls on the day of the Speaker vote and overloaded the system. He’s leaving because the people have been sending a message to Washington loud and clear that we are done with allowing our country to be destroyed piece by piece.

Together, we can and we have made a difference in Oklahoma and in the United States. We want to stand and offer encouragement, but also issue a challenge. We are only this strong when we stand together. We realize we don’t all agree on every issue and think that’s what makes our work so effective. We don’t have to agree on every issue. What we have to agree on is that it’s going to take hard work, determination and civility to ever get anything done. Each and every one of us tonight has a passion to see our country return to our original path of greatness and prosperity. We all have a desire to seek truth, stand on our faith and find productive ways to work towards those goals.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Donald Trump In OKC

At Friday night's Donald Trump Rally, Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty, made a surprise appearance and said a few words in support of Donald Trump. Donald pointed out that they are both successful businessmen (not to mention their reality tv successes).
Then Willie added;

"Our wives are Thousand Times better looking than us."

At that point, and without a reply; Donald excused Willie from the stage.

For years now, Matt Vermillion has been dedicated to covering Oklahoma news and politics. He's been the driving force behind the Okie Blaze.
Two weeks ago, Matt undertook a massive effort to reform his news service.
That included;

a new web architecture,

a new server,

added journalists,

a rebranding, and

an added daily email service called The Bison Beat.

"We won’t just tell you the news that everyone else is talking about; but more importantly, the news that they are not talking about."- Matthew Vermillion

SoonerPolitics.org is pleased to have this great team back online. But We'll let Matt tell you the rest of the new vision and what it means for the great folks of Oklahoma.
Read more at: FortySix News, Your Oklahoma News Network

Editor's note: I had the good pleasure of meeting a remarkable man, last month. Lloyd Noble II and I were among the massive crowd of Oklahomans who attended the funeral of Mark Costello. Afterward, in the foyer, I noticed Lloyd Noble standing off to the side and I had to take the opportunity to greet him. I had just placed him in nomination for the 2015 Defenders of Liberty Awards for grassroots activism. Lloyd was unaware and a bit withdrawn. He appears to be a quiet man. Last winter I spoke with Randy Brogdon about the impact Noble has made, not only on Oklahoma history, but in leading a national movement to reform government. Randy told me great stories about Lloyd and when I suggested that the GOP should publicly honor him, Randy said he'd do his best to get Lloyd to show up for the event.

Noble claims that govt. waste is often caused by reelection efforts

The Almanac of Oklahoma Politics

by David Rausch, Fairmont State University & Rick Farmer, The University of Akron

On September 18, 1990, Oklahoma voters became the first in the nation to limit the tenure of their state legislators. Since 1990, the movement has spread with term limits being applied to city, county, and state officials across the nation. Almost half of these states also elected to limit their congressional delegations; however, the United States Supreme Court in 1995 found such state-enacted congressional term limits violated the Constitution.

Oklahoma is an important state to examine in the development of the term limit movement in the United States. In addition to being the first state to enact term limits, a term limit initiative of some form has appeared in the state at least three times since 1990. An analysis of these initiative campaigns partially illustrates the history of the national term limit movement. Here we examine the campaigns in Oklahoma as a portrait of the national movement and provide some indication as to the effects of term limits on politics in the Sooner State.

How the news broke

Conservative voters roared in a standing ovation Friday at the Values Voter Summit in Washington after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) plans to retire.
Rubio, who is running for president, shared the news that broke just before his speech, working it into prepared remarks where he questioned why a Republican Congress isn't "able to stop our country from sliding in the wrong direction."

"Just a few minutes ago, Speaker Boehner announced that he will be resigning," Rubio said to thunderous applause. He told the crowd it is time for Republicans to "turn the page."

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Two of the three announced candidates for OKGOP Chairman have published their "vision statement for the office they are seeking.

Robert Hubbard and Pam Pollard have publicly posted their 'vision' statements. Estela Hernandez did not appear to have produced any such press statement of the kind. We are posting the two public statements as an effort to educate the entire OKGOP membership of the options which the State Committee will be asked to choose from.

Fifteen years ago, the U.S. ranked second, behind Hong Kong.

Overregulation, civil asset forfeiture, eminent domain, and other factors have combined to make the country much less business-friendly, according to Per Bylund of Oklahoma State University.Bylund is the Records-Johnston Professor of Free Enterprise and Asst. Professor in the School of Entrepreneurship at OSU. He tells KRMG's Russell Mills that he's blowing the whistle to draw attention to what he sees as major obstacles to economic growth and freedom in the country, but admits there are few easy solutions.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Among the esteemed finalists announced for the 2015 Defenders Of Liberty Awards, there are three who take their message to the college campus on a daily basis.

Dr Everett Piper, Steve Byas, and Kevin Crow have all been nominated for their work as grassroots activists and leaders. The awards will be announced at the annual banquet of the Defenders Of Liberty this Saturday.
Dr. Piper is the college president at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville. He is a frequent guest contributor to local and national media outlets. While he doesn't directly teach in the classroom regularly, he plays a far more influential role in selecting the professors who do impact the students' higher education pursuit.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

After years of nonresponsiveness and even banning counties from developing local policies, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is now becoming the default regulator of the petroleum production industry.After convincing a Guthrie area production site to shut down 2 wells earlier this summer, the Corporation Commission is now officially forcing regulations on a Cushing area site.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Matt Pinnell's 2012 OKGOP has morphed into a smaller and more divisive 2015 party mess.

Former OKGOP Chairman, Matt Pinnell, made some prophetic remarks in the days after the 2012 OKGOP State Convention.
Pinnell told Andrew Griffin, of the Red Dirt Report, a few of his perceptions of the OKGOP. The 2012 convention was perhaps the most openly hostile events in the party's recent history. Despite that presidential year mess, the OKGOP was much healthier for it's strong and vocal diversity.

Steven Sutton of the Leadership Institute, in Washington D.C. is the lead trainer. He has also managed numerous political campaigns from city council to U.S. Congress, specializing in challenger campaigns. - See more at: https://goo.gl/QM5CM3.

This effort to provide campaign training harkens back to the tradition that former OKGOP chair, Matt Pinnell, used to provide when the OKGOP conducted OKGOP U. for party activists. It focused on precinct-level organization.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

FIORINA PLAYS GENDER CARD

While claiming that she doesn't play the gender card, Fiorina did just that. When asked about Trump's pot-shot at her face, Fiorina responded;

"I think women all over this country heard what Mr Trump said!".

Trumped swiftly backpedaled. I think she has a beautiful face. The philosopher, Voltaire said; "To learn who rules over you, find out who you're not allowed to criticized".
Rand Paul called Trump's demeanor "junior high".

Monday, September 14, 2015

The Massachusetts 1994 Gay marriage Ruling was stayed, so the legis-
lature could respond in an orderly way to the landmark ruling.

While I admire the diligent stand Kim Davis is making; it seems to have a fatal flaw. And this is where the worldview of a Falwell Republican differs from a Buckley Republican.
Buckley eventually opposed blue laws and general "Nanny State" interference with many personal liberties. But homosexual marriage is not an equality issue, because every person can marry a person of the opposite sex. Homosexuals want an expansion of accommodation to allow any of us to marry a person of our own sex or the opposite sex. That policy decision belongs to the legislative process, not a judicial fiat. This is where the libertarian philosophy seems to be the ultimate rendezvous of conservatives in retreat.

One of my blogging mentors, Michael Bates,​ just added his thoughts on Marriage. Particularly the government role in the marriage process. I think you'll find it thought-provoking. I'm glad Michael is taking an interest in this issue. I hope he continues his research. He mentions me by name and refers to my views.

I agree with Bates, that government needs to retain a role in the marriage issue. somehow he got another idea about my position.

I must clear some important misconceptions about my views.

I wrote a short dissertation on the matter last winter. Please read it, here. But to address the specifics of Michael's concerns, let me make 3 points.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Update to previous report:

Third District Chairman, Robert Hubbard reports that a conference-call discussion involving members of the existing OKGOP State Executive Committee has recommended to rescind the previously posted October 10th State Committee meeting and instead call for an October 11th Sunday afternoon meeting.

Sources report that the OKGOP Executive Committee is very split on whether to move the date of the Big State Committee currently slated for October 10th.

The OKGOP executive meeting evidently was held Thursday at 6pm by teleconference (Does Roberts Rules allow that?), yet no public announcement has been seen, at this point.
There are two other date's discussed (perhaps heatedly). Sunday, the 11th or Saturday, the 24th of October.
There will be a lot of details coming from many sources. With several slants and opinions from various players.
Stay tuned.....

Thursday, September 10, 2015

The Brogdon resignation has just taken effect.

We, in the OKGOP, are in an interim leadership phase and awaiting a confirmation that the proposed October 10th meeting is still set. Then we will hopefully have a new state chairman
In some unrelated research, today, I uncovered some interesting OKGOP history (thanks in part to a tip from Steve Byas of the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper). If you think these past few months of strife in the state headquarters looks petty and juvenile, you're probably going to be surprised at the really big party battle which dragged on for months, following the 1981 state convention.
Tulsan, Mike Freeman, had been relatively unknown outside of his local metro area, but he narrowly defeated the Oklahoma County Chair, Nancy Apgar for the state chairmanship. Mike had managed his father's unsuccessful congressional campaign against incumbent, Jim Jones.
It seems Vice Chair, Mary H. Swanson, of Oklahoma City (who had just ascended to the vice chairmanship in Nov. when Glenda Mattoon resigned), had continual disputes with Freeman and those disputes became very public and vicious. This led to a further drop in fundraising activities and donations.
The Oklahoma Republicans, in 1981; sought to remedy the corrupt gerrymandering of the Democrat party and that initiative petition proved to be a huge expense. The party was somewhere between $65-85K, in debt.

Underneath the polished campaign veneer of better schools and safer neighborhoods, the Liberal Democrats have succeeded in a coup in a special election, this week. Feminist, Cyndi Munson has grander goals of pushing an east coast liberal feminist agenda in Oklahoma.
Munson told ProgressiveWomen.com;

"I have made a vow to stand up for the women in Oklahoma. I need the women in Oklahoma to stand with me. The statistics alone make my blood boil. They infuriate me.....

An architectural rendering of the proposed new site of Iron Gate Ministry

A Tulsa city adjustment board narrowly denied approval to a soup kitchen run by a ministry to the homeless and other desperate & hungry people.
Iron Gate Ministry is looking for a less congested location than the current church basement in the downtown financial district of Tulsa. So their ministry board attempted to purchase and convert an old facility just east of the downtown loop.

But the Tulsa government said; "No".

The $60 Votes

Chip Carter Spent about $60 per vote, and it wasn't enough! It appears that the voters just wanted someone to knock on their door and hear their concerns. Cyndi Munson did a lot of that. And it works, even when the candidate doesn't promise to support their views. They at least want to know that they were heard.

Earlier today, Cathy Costello released a letter of request sent to Gov. Mary Fallin. In that letter she lays out her desire to continue the legacy and work which her husband faithfully carried out for the people of Oklahoma.
In a personal post to social media, the Labor Department's Chief Of Staff, Jim Marshall echoed Cathy's statement. Marshall has been a key leader of the Labor Department staff since the early Days of the Brenda Reneau administration.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Police officer, Stephen Mills has dedicated his life and career to be an Oklahoma peace officer.
He shares his convictions about maintaining the liberty our republic was founded upon.

It's not an attack on Law Enforcement nor is it helping the drug cartels. Reform is needed to assure the rights of Oklahoma citizens are protected. It's not about whether innocent people currently are or aren't having their property seized. It's about the way the law is currently written so that innocent people CAN have their property seized.

The Tulsa City Council is facing some conflicting interests in local zoning. The most powerful neighborhood in the city is the Lewis Avenue stretch between 21st & 41st street south. Most of the city's current and past mayors have lived in this area of old oil mansions.

The building has been at 39th & Lewis Ave, for 50 years.

The expanded auditorium would use part of the front lawn

Now a church is expanding their auditorium to seat 635 congregants at 3817 South Lewis Avenue. Wha-da-ya know, the locals are complaining that it would cause traffic jams along the 4-lane arterial street on sunday mornings.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

30 Day Movement

Real Clear Politics is a great tool for monitoring the mass of polling data coming at us from all directions. The 3 fastest growing campaigns are the candidates with no elective experience Here's their compilation of the past 30 days.

Friday, September 4, 2015

Former Chair Pinnell, Nat. Cmte woman McLarty, Vice Chair Hernandez,
& Chairman Brogdon; on Brogdon's first day at the helm, last April.

It's time to dust off the pages of the OKGOP Rules and get answers to what just happened this week.

For whatever reasons, the state chairman decided to resign. He intended to make the needed transition more smoothly, by post-dating his resignation to the day of the next State Committee meeting. Unfortunately, our rules don't currently allow for such conveniences to the state party.

So today Randy Brogdon announced that he will resign officially on Sept. 10th. Then our interim chairman will be Estela Hernandez (the current state vice chairman).

The Official Call

Carolyn McLarty, Steve Fair, and Estela Hernandez, sent out this official notice to the members of the State Committee (not to be confused with the state executive committee).

Pam Pollard ran a close and friendly race for chairman, last spring. After
the returns came in she called on the whole party to work with Brogdon.

Former OKGOP Vice Chair, Pam Pollard of Oklahoma City, posted the following announcement to social media:

THE RACE CONTINUES ....

I am resuming my candidacy for state party chairman after the resignation of current Chair Randy Brogdon. His resignation is effective Sept 10 for the special election on Oct. 10th. Randy's resignation caught me and many others off guard but I sincerely wish him the very best.

Resignation Effective Sept. 10th

Updated: Resignation letter included.
Randy intended to provide the OKGOP a smoother transition directly to a new chairman, but the OKGOP rules do not provide smooth transitions in this scenario. The party most go without an official chairman for a minimum of 30 days before an election of the State Committee. We'll certainly revisit this rule and fix it at a future opportunity.

Brogdon said he needs to wrap up a number of 'loose ends' for a more orderly 'passing of the baton'. He assured the candidates running that he will do his best to provide them all the same access to make their case to the state committee members.

A Mannford area couple are the latest victims of abuses in Civil asset forfeiture. When a law enforcement typo led to the wrong home being raided by Creek County sheriff's deputies, the innocent couple new right away that the cops had messed up.
But the deputies ignored all reasoned pleadings and arrested the innocent couple. Then they seized their truck, boat, guns and several other items.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Brogdon & Pollard, at debate, during their campaigns for OKGOP Chairman

Today, the OKGOP office sent out the following notice:

This is an official call from Chairman Randy Brogdon for a State Committee Meeting to be held on Saturday September 12th, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at the Hope Community Worship Center located at 8304 S. 107th E. Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The purpose of this State Committee Meeting is to elect a new State Chairman.

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